IniHeadr.exe Reads Section Headers from .INI Files

ID: Q104096

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK)

SUMMARY

The Iniheadr.exe sample defines a function called GetPrivateProfileSections(), which parses a given .INI file and returns a buffer containing the section headers separated by NULLs and terminated by a double NULL. SECTION.C contains the function and a necessary helper function. The sample allows the user to choose an .INI file using the Open common dialog box. The section headings are then placed in a list box.

The Windows SDK does not define a function to read all of the section headers from a profile (.INI) file. An application must read the entire .INI file and parse it to obtain the section headers.

NOTE: Microsoft recommends using Windows's application programming interfaces (APIs) to read .INI files. The method described below is not guaranteed to work on future releases, especially for system .INI files such as WINFILE.INI, WIN.INI, SYSTEM.INI, CONTROL.INI, and so forth.

MORE INFORMATION

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center. Click the file names below to download the files:

Iniheadr.exe

For more information about how to download files from the Microsoft Download Center, please visit the Download Center at the following Web address

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp

and then click How to use the Microsoft Download Center.

A profile file (WIN.INI) or a private profile (such as CLOCK.INI) must have the following form:


   [section heading]
   entry=value

      .
      .
      .

For example, given a profile containing the following section headings


   [windows]
      .
      .
      .

   [Desktop]

      .
      .
      .
   [Extensions]

GetPrivateProfileSections() parses the profile file and places the following in a buffer:


    windows<NULL>Desktop<NULL>Extensions<NULL><NULL>

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbfile kbsample kb16bitonly kbSysSettings kbGrpUser kbWinOS310 kbWinOS311 kbWinOS300
Version : WINDOWS:
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :